The Eye of the Beholder
by BlackandGold36
Summary: Set in between “Family” and “Fool for Love” during season 5. Willow attempts a bodily control spell that goes wrong and ends up switching the bodies of the Scoobies with..."interesting" side effects. Main cast of season 5 plus two special guest stars.
1. Dawn Breaks

The Eye of the Beholder

Dawn's eyes flickered open, the suns' soft light breaking into the room. The bed was comfy and everything was peaceful, soft breathing the only sound within earshot. She closed her eyes and sighed in contentment. The sheets wrapped around her were cool and contrasted nicely with the warm skin of the man lying in bed next to her. He faced away from her, his body rising and falling with each breath. Her arms were wrapped against his sleeping form and…wait a second.

Her eyes bolted open. That couldn't be right. She looked at the man in bed next to her. His torso was… well, excellent. And he definitely didn't have a shirt on. She stole a glance down, the sheet covered his lower half, but leaving a few visible inches of his very nice heiney. Her eyes widened slightly. "Oh my god…" she mouthed softly, a smile forming on her face. How in the world had she gotten here? Dawn wasn't complaining, but she was definitely confused. She thought back to the night before, had she met someone, or gone somewhere…? She couldn't think of anything reasonable. One second, went to sleep by herself, the next, she woke up next to Muscley McNicebutt. Thank God Buffy isn't here, she'd kill me if she knew I was lying in bed with a guy… a really hot guy too.

He rolled onto his back and the sheet moved with him, tugging softly against her body and as it moved. It rubbed against her skin. All of her skin. Her brow furrowed. She reached down beneath the sheets, her smile fading as her arm got below the edge of the blanket. She paused for a second, closed her eyes tight, and then went through with it, checking to see if she had been right. With a yelp, she withdrew her hand from beneath the bedspread. Ok. She was naked. Horror crept over her. "Oh God…" Had she had sex with him? The guy groaned again, starting to stir from his slumber. His face turned toward her, and for the first time she could see who she was lying next to.

It was Riley.

A shriek escaped from her lips and she threw herself backwards. The bed disappeared from beneath her and she crumpled to the ground, the blanket collapsing on top of her. She straightened up as fast as possible, the blanket falling to the ground and leaving her standing there, naked. Riley, awake at this point, was looking up at her with concern and surprise. She stood frozen, completely unable to move. "Buffy…" she cut him off quickly, not wanting to hear about the consequences of these actions. "No, please don't. Don't say anything, please, let me just figure out what happened." She became very aware of still being naked and quickly snapped up the blanket, wrapping it around her body. Riley was nodding, his eyes not completely focused. He rose up, keeping the sheet around his waist with one hand, the other reaching for her. "Listen, everything's ok. Nothing's wrong." His hand eventually nudged her arm, and she couldn't take it anymore. She leaped back from his touch with a yell.

"No!" She stumbled, her arm flying out and catching on the curtains. She ripped them down with her, both girl and blind flying to the carpet. Sunlight poured into the room, catching Riley full in the face. With a strangled yell he threw himself off the other side of the bed and threw the sheet overtop of himself, a sort of self fashioned protection from the light.

Her eyes already tearing, Dawn tore out of the room with the blanket streaming behind like a cloak. "I'm sorry! I just need to figure this out. Riley, I…" It was then that the tears overwhelmed her and she forced herself out of the room and down the stairs, Riley's calls echoing after her.

Angel lay under the sheets on the side of the bed, his eyes wild and confused. What the hell had just happened? He was fine, his skin wasn't burning and there seemed to be no ill effects. And Buffy… he didn't really know what had just happened, but he was still caught by the fact that he had been in bed with Buffy again. He hadn't even seen her in months, and then he woke up next to her? Aside from a memory mishap…he wasn't sure what else could explain this. And… had she just called him Riley? Maybe he'd misheard her but he was fairly sure she'd run out screaming she was sorry. To Riley. If she meant… he didn't want to think about it. Riley Finn was someone he didn't want to think about, EVER, and if started putting thoughts in his head that Buffy thought about Riley while…

He shook his head. No more of that. He peeked out from under the sheet. Buffy was gone, she'd taken off, not stopping no matter how much he'd called. The whole room around him was bathed in light; he wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this one. Maybe one quick movement, like a band-aid. He'd handled fire fairly well before. Ok, here goes. Three… two… one…he leaped up, the sheet over his head but barely reaching his knees beneath him. He scurried to the doorframe but…curious. His legs were fine. No pain at all. He stopped. What was going on? He took a breath and slowly lowered the sheet, letting first his hair, then forehead slowly peak over the soft cotton. The sunlight touched his skin and… nothing.

He let the sheet fall away from his face and the sunlight to bathe him. It just felt…warm. He couldn't figure it out. How was this possible? He noticed a pair of pants on the ground and hurriedly grabbed them. If for whatever reason he could go into the sunlight, he could also go after Buffy and make sure she was ok. He threw the pants on and quickly exited the room after her. As he went down the hallway, doors were creaking open on both sides; Joyce's face peeking out from one room, Dawn's fluffed bed head appearing from the other. "Be right back" he threw out, and then was down the stairs in seconds.


	2. Buffy's Awakening

Buffy awoke from her dreamland when she heard the screams. She stumbled to her feet in an instant, the bedspread that had been over her slumbering body now thrown against the wall. It was then that three things happened. One, she heard a rapid thumping on the other side of the door; someone was obviously running down the hall. Two, she noticed with surprise that she was in Dawn's room, not her own. And three, she'd just stumbled.

Slayers don't stumble.

Well ok, she had stumbled many multiple times, but usually there was a vamp kicking her ass at the same time. Slightly unnerved, she went for the door, slightly distraught about the weird wake up. And it happened again. She caught her foot against the bed and with a gasp of air went shooting to the ground, her hair flying all over the place. What the hell was happening? She threw her hands out in front of her to block her face and hit the ground with an "ooof." She remained still for a second, on her hands on knees, trying to get her bearings. Her toe was smarting and she was… wearing green nail polish? She glanced at her arms, which didn't look exactly right to her. They were slighter and longer than usual and much smoother than hers had been in years. They almost seemed to be someone else's…

She got to her feet and looked around the room for a mirror, wanting desperately to see if her fears were going to be confirmed. Against the wall lay the full-length mirror that had been in Dawn's room for years… well… kinda. Years in this fake-worldy-thingie. Her reflection gasped at her when she saw the face staring back at her. Well, that wasn't quite right. Staring back at her was Dawn. Buffy's eyes widened. So did Dawn's. Buffy's jaw dropped. So did Dawn's. Ok, so… this is different. She raised her hand and the mirrored person did the same. Buffy sighed, realizing the predicament and knowing that continuing this mirror watching would lead to nothing.

"Why can't I just fight normal vampires like all the other slayers?" She'd switched bodies before, it seemed like everyone of the Scoobies had, but it wasn't something you just 'got used to.' She DID notice with satisfaction that Dawn's slight form was thinner than her own by at least those 5 pounds she'd been trying to use. Upside. Very nice.

She turned and went for the door, being careful to check where her feet were taking her this time. The light pink bunny pajamas made her feel no better about this situation. She opened the door enough to poke her head out, her hair strewn all over the place. Riley emerged from her own room, wearing only the pair of sweatpants he'd had on last night. He rushed down the hall and muttered a quick "Be right back" at her, before thudding down the stairs. On the other side of the hall, her mom's face was looming from her own bedroom, her eyes tired yet worried.

"What was that about?" Buffy shook her head, fixing her hair while exiting the room. "No idea. I think he was headed after ummm…" A thought sprung up in her mind. If she was in Dawn's body, was Dawn in hers? That would make the most sense…considering a body switch was occurring… but it didn't HAVE to be that way. Buffy quickly went into her room and checked to see if she…well, her body, was in there. No dice. She must have been the one who went running down the hall. Joyce walked out into the hallway too, and Buffy made the split decision not to bother her mother with this problem. If Joyce didn't need to be made part of the puzzle, that would be easier. "One sec', mom." Buffy ducked back into Dawn's room and found some clothes as quickly as she could. She tossed them on and grabbed a light sweatshirt to wear overtop, calling to her mother to stay out of the room. She needed to go after Riley and get to the bottom of this. She exited her room again, her mother still standing in the hallway. "Dawn, what is going…" "No time, mom. Be right back!"

She rumbled down the steps, tearing off after Riley had gone out. Hopefully she could catch him before he got too far away…


End file.
